Quick-acting vise

ABSTRACT

A vise having a jaw moving along parallel rails between a fixed jaw and an anchor block, the movable jaw is coupled through a ball joint to an elongated threaded rod having a handle at its far end, the rod threadably engaging an apertured movable block which rotates about anchor block-held pivot pins by means of a pair of spaced links pivotally coupled at their respective ends to the pivot pins and the movable block. Quick and relatively greater movement of the movable jaw is attained by moving the handle so that the length and the movable block move in a vertical plane either toward or away from the fixed jaw, while a fine adjustment and power tightening or clamping of the vise jaws is attained by rotating the threaded rod, once the rod is moved forward and its longitudinal axis lies just below the longitudinal axis of the pivot pins.

United States Patent [191 Johnson QUICK-ACTING VISE [76] Inventor:Nordahl Johnson, 4416 W. 164th St.,

. Lawndale, Calif. 90260 [22] Filed: July 19, 1971 1 [21] Appl. No.:163,974

9/1946 Great Britain 269/246 [451 Aug. 14,1973

Primary Examiner-Robert C. Riordon Assistant-Examiner-Joseph T. ZatargaAttorney.lohn I-loltrichter, Jr.

[5 7] ABSTRACT A vise having a jaw moving along parallel rails between afixed jaw and an anchor block, the movable jaw is coupled through a balljoint to an elongated threaded Y r'od having a handle at its far end,the rod threadably engaging an apertured movable block which rotatesabout anchor block-held pivot pins by means of a pair of spaced linkspivotally coupled at their, respective ends to the pivot pins and themovable block. Quick and v relatively greater movement of the movablejaw is attained by moving the handle so that the length and the movableblock move in a vertical plane either toward or away from the fixed jaw,while a fine adjustment and power tightening or clamping of the visejaws is attained by rotating the threaded rod, once the rod is movedforward and its longitudinal axis lies just below the longitudinal axisof the pivot pins.

7 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures PATENTED M1914 M5 83 a? s5 33 FIG 57 FIG. 4.59

19 s3 s5 41 51 e1 & a 57 i 75 7 w \PZT FIG. 1.

FIG. 2.

FIG. 5.

FIG. 6.

QUICIGACTING VISE I BACKGROUND OF THEINVENTION The background of theinvention will be set forthintwo parts.

1. Field of the Invention The present invention pertains generallyto-t'he field of vises and more particularly to vises capable of quicklyengaging and disengaging a workpiece without extensive manual movementof the operating handle'of the vise.

2. Description of the Prior Art F ast-acting-hand visesarewellknown.They basically fall into two broad categories: (1) vises'using togglearrangements; and (2.) vises having open nuts threadably engagable withan elongated threaded vise actuating.

screw.

As to the first-mentioned category, most have-afixed' jaw at one endofan elongated vise bed and a movablejaw coupled to amovable carriageboth inslidable engagement with the vise: bed. The carriagesupportsatoggle linkage which pivotally attaches to an elongated handle, thefront end of which pivotally attaches'to the movable jaw. These devicesusually have elaborate ratchet and spring assemblies toallowthe carriageto be locked down at adesired position-along tliebed. The

latter assemblies are expensive to fabricate, are unreliable inoperation and are prone to wear and. malfunction.

Others of this class-of vise have a fixed'linksupporting carriage andthe elongated handle pivotally attaches to a pivoted semi-circularcamwhich in turn frictionally contacts and moves a movable vise jawtoward a fixedvise jaw mounted on the vise bedi Here; only very limitedjaw movement ispossibleand thefrictional cam arrangement is'veryinefficient and prone to* excessive wear.

As to the second group of such vises, the. elongated threaded handle ispivotally attached'at its frontend' 'to. a jaw slidably attached to anelongated "vise bed, at one end of which a fixed jaw is mounted. Themovable jaw is pushed towardor away from the fixed jaw by the ban-- dieand when both jaws engage a workpiece, the handle is lowered so that itsthreads engage the open nut fixedly' attached to theother end of thebed. It has been found that under high clamping forces andbyvibratingmovement of the workpiece due to sawingv and like functions,the handle tends to jump outof engagement.

with the open. nut. This is even in more evidence as time goes'onsincethe threads are. dulled by use. Being: always exposed, the threads are.easily damaged by tools and the workpiece which further lessens theuseful life of these vises.

SUMMARY OF'TI-IE INVENTION In view of the foregoing factorsiandconditionscharacteristic of thepriorart, it is a primary objectofthepresent invention to provide a new and improved quick-actinghand'viseinot subject to the disadvantages enumerated above.

It is another objectof the present invention to provide a simpleyet'efiective quick-actingvise which: utilizes no ratchet and springassemblies.

It'is still another'object of the present invention to provide an easilyfabricated and inexpensive quickacting vise which allows the jaws tobemoved into' quick engagement with a workpiece and locked with adesired clamping pressure with relatively little manual manipulation ofthe visehandle. I According: to the present. invention, a quick-actingvise-is provided which includes-apair of .spaced parallel Ilongitudinalrailsha-ving adjacent first and :secondzends,

and a-fixed vise jaw fixedly attached to the first ends of the rails,the fixed jaw having. a first'work-ing surface perpendicular to thelongitudinal axis of the rails. .Also' havingaa ball socket disposed inits rear surface opposite'the second surface. The vise further includesan elongated threaded-rodi'h'aving.aball end movably held intherballsocket andhavingta pivoted handle attached at its. opposite end; atoggle arrangement including: a movable block threadably engaging. thethreaded rodand a pair oflinks eachpivotally attachedadjacent one" ofitsends to a different end of the movable block and pivotallyattached-adjacent its other end: to the pivot pins, each" of thelinksbeing disposedin a different one ofthe gaps between therod rest andtheside arm portion of the movable-block.

I BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF- THE DRAWINGS: 1

FIG; 1' isa plan view of aquick-acting vise: con- I structed'inaccordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 isa side elevation of the vise of FIG. 1;. I FIG; .3" is a viewofthe vise of FIG. 1 in vertical section, show-ing the. device in itsclosed jaw position;

FIG. 4*is a vertical section of the FIG. 6 is a sectional'view-takenalong 6 6 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 7 is a section view of FIG. 2 taken along lines 7 7'; and

FIG. 8 is-apartial 8 in FIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Referringnow'to'thedrawings, and moreparticularly view in section taken along lines 8" to. FIGS. 1, 2 and"3,'thereisshown a quick-acting vise llchavingza pair of spaced parallellongitudinal rails 13- v with adjacent firstandisecond'ends 15.- andv17, respec"-- tively. A-fixed vise jaw 1-9'is fixedly attached tothe-first ends ISof the rails I3, the jaw 'l9having a first workingsurfaceZl perpendicular to the longitudinal axis ofth'erails13-..Disposed transversely between andsfixedly attached tothesecond'ends 17 of therrails 13 is an anchor block 23 whichincludesupstanding side arm portions 25, a central rod rest portion 27' betweenand spaced'from the sidearm portions 25, andpivot pins 29' f disposedthrough and held by theside arm and'rod rest portions 25 and 27 in sucha manner to span the two.

gaps 31" between these portions (also see. FIGS).

The vise 11 also includes a-movable vise jaw 33, with i apertures 34therein, slidably mounted on the rails 13} vise shown in FIG. 1', initsopen jawposition;

FIG. Sisa sectional view of FIG. 2', taken along lines between the fixedjaw 19 and the anchor block 23. The movable jaw 33 has a second workingsurface 35 facing and parallel to the first working surface 21 and alsohas a ball socket arrangement 37 with a curved recess 39 and anapertured ball retaining plate 41 spectively in and attached to a rearsurface 43 thereof. The plate 41 is here shown to be circular andprovided with holes to accommodate retaining screws 45, and also has anoblong aperture 47 to accommodate a ball end 49 of an elongated threadedrod 51, at the opposite end of which rod a handle arm 53 is pivotallyattached by a pin 55.

Further, there is shown a toggle arrangement, generally designated 57,which includes a movable block 59 having a threaded aperture'6lthreadably engaging the threaded rod 51 and a pair of links 63, eachpivotally attached adjacent one of its ends 65 to a different end 67 ofthe movable block 59 by means of a pivot bolt 69 and a washer 71. Thepivot pins 29 pass through appropriate holes in the links 63 adjacentthe latters other ends 73 so that the movable block 59 may rotate aboutthe pivot pins 29.

The plan view of FIG. 1, the elevation of FIG. 2 and the sectional andpartial section of FIGS. 3 and 8 show the toggle arrangement 57 in itsclosed jaw position (although the jaws are not actually touching eachother or a workpiece). In this configuration, the movable jaw 33 is asclose to the fixed jaw 19 as it can go without rotating the threaded rod51 since it is constrained by the movable block 59 and the links 63pivoting on the pivot pins 29. The rotation of the movable block 59about the pins 29 in a direction toward the vise jaws is limited by thethreaded rod 51 resting in a rod conforming grove 75 centrally disposedin the upper surface 77 of the central rod rest portion 27 of the anchorblock 23. The depth dimension of the grove 75 is chosen so that thelongitudinal axis of the threaded rod 51 may lie just below thelongitudinal axis of the pivot pin 29 when the movable block 59 isrotated fully forward.

By providing the linkage arrangement 57 with this axes relationship,there is no tendency for the threaded rod to move upward, and unlock thedevice, when the jaws are caused to clamp onto a workpiece by the properrotation of the threaded rod, no matter what pressure is applied to thehandle 53 or what movements or vibrations are experienced by a workpiece(not shown). It has been found that a good lock" is provided where theaxis of the rod 51 lies as little as a sixteenth of an inch below theaxis of the pivot pins 29. However, a distance separation between theseaxes of more than three sixteenths of an inch is not necessary and canonly increase the upward pressure of the rod 51 which will be necessaryin order to unlock the mechanism and allow rapid rearward movement ofthe movable jaw 33, as shown in FIG. 4.

In order that the vise jaws may securely hold a rodlike workpiece, theworking surfaces 21 and 35 may be provided with recesses79 and 81,respectively, to accommodate replacable jaw plates 83 and 85, the latterrespectively having horizontal and vertical notches 87 and 89. As can beseen in FIG. 6, the jaw plates 83 and 85 are retained by machine screws91 threadably engaged in appropriate threaded holes in the respectiveaws.

The fixed jaw 19 and the anchor block 33 may be welded as shown here orotherwise permanently atexample. Although these elements of the vise areshown having respective apertures 87 and 89 in which the ends oftherails 13 are disposed, it should be understood that. other conventionalmeans for affixing them to the rails may be used. Also, it should beunderstood that the rails may have any convenient type crosssection suchas rectangulan'fo'r example, and need not be limited to the circularcro's's section shown.

The materials used in fabricating the quick-acting vise herein describedare not critical and any material generally considered suitable for usein hand vises may be used. For example, the rails may be hardened highgrade alloy steel and the jaws may be cast or machined from any steelalloy such as stainless steel or may even be cast iron or aluminum. Thethreaded rod and those parts engaging the threads thereof may be of ahardened material, especially where great jaw clamping pressure isrequired to hold a workpiece.

From the foregoing, it should be evident that there has been described avery simple-to-fabricate yet effective and efficient quick-acting visewhich is relatively inexpensive to manufacture and which is less proneto become inoperative by wear than many presently known vises of thisgeneral type.

It should further be clear from the foregoing that the invention issusceptible to numerous modifications and embodiments not shown, andthat it is intended that the foregoing disclosure and drawings shall beconsidered only as illustrations of the principles of this invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A quick-acting vise, comprising:

a pair of spaced parallel longitudinal rails having adjacent first andsecond ends;

a fixed vise jaw fixedly attached to said first ends, said fixed jawhaving a first working surface perpendicular to the longitudinal axis ofsaid rails;

an anchor block disposed transversely between and fixedly attached tosaid second ends, said block having upstanding side arm portions, acentral rod rest portion between and spaced from said side arm portions,and pivot pins disposed through and held by said side arm and rod restportions spanning the two gaps between said rod rest and side armportions;

a movable vise jaw slidably mounted on said rails between said fixed jawand said anchor block, said movable jaw having a second working surfacefacing and parallel to said first working surface, said movable jaw alsohaving a ball socket disposed in its rear surface opposite said secondsurface;

an elongated threaded rod having a ball end movably held in said ballsocket and having a pivoted handle attached at its opposite end; and

a toggle arrangement including a movable block threadably engaging saidthreaded rod and a pair of links each pivotally attached adjacent one ofits ends to a different end of said movable block and pivotally attachedadjacent its other end to said pivot pins, each of said links beingdisposed in a different one of said gaps between said rod rest and saidside arm portions.

2. A quick-acting vise according to claim 1, wherein 5 said vise jawshave recessed portions in their working tached to the rails 13 byconventional set screws, for

spaces, and wherein cooperating rod and bar adapters are removablyattached in each of said recessed portions.

3. A quick-acting vise according to claim 1, wherein said rails have acircular cross-section, and wherein said vise jaws and said anchorblocks have apertures therethrough conforming to said rails, said fixedjaw and said anchor block including means for locking said rails to saidfixed jaw and anchor block.

4. A quick-acting vise according to claim 1, wherein said rear surfaceof said movable jaw includes a curved recess generally conforming to theshape of and larger than said ball end of said threaded rod, and whereinan apertured retaining plate is attached to said rear surface, theaperture in said plate registering with said curved recess and having adiameter less than that of said ball end and larger than the diameter ofsaid threaded rod immediately in back of said ball end.

5. A quick-acting vise according to claiml wherein the rotation of saidmoving block and links about said pivot pins in a direction toward saidvise jaws is limited by said threaded rod resting on said rod restportion, said rotation being limited to a portion where the longitudinalaxis of said threaded rod lies just below the longitudinal axis of saidpivot pins.

6. A quick-acting vise according to claim 5, wherein said rod restportion includes a groove in the top thereof adapted to accept and limitthe downward movement of said threaded rod.

7. A quick-acting vise according to claim 6, wherein said threaded rodhas a circular cross-section and wherein said groove has a conformingrounded bottom portion.

1. A quick-acting vise, comprising: a pair of spaced parallellongitudinal rails having adjacent first and second ends; a fixed visejaw fixedly attached to said first ends, said fixed jaw having a firstworking surface perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of said rails; ananchor block disposed transversely between and fixedly attached to saidsecond ends, said block having upstanding side arm portions, a centralrod rest portion between and spaced from said side arm portions, andpivot pins disposed through and held by said side arm and rod restportions spanning the two gaps between said rod rest and side armportions; a movable vise jaw slidably mounted on said rails between saidfixed jaw and said anchor block, said movable jaw having a secondworking surface facing and parallel to said first working surface, saidmovable jaw also having a ball socket disposed in its rear surfaceopposite said second surface; an elongated threaded rod having a ballend movably held in said ball socket and having a pivoted handleattached at its opposite end; and a toggle arrangement including amovable block threadably engaging said threaded rod and a pair of linkseach pivotally attached adjacent one of its ends to a different end ofsaid movable block and pivotally attached adjacent its other end to saidpivot pins, each of said links being disposed in a different one of saidgaps between said rod rest and said side arm portions.
 2. A quick-actingvise according to claim 1, wherein said vise jaws have recessed portionsin their working spaces, and wherein cooperating rod and bar adaptersare removably attached in each of said recessed portions.
 3. Aquick-acting vise according to claim 1, wherein said rails have acircular cross-section, and wherein said vise jaws and said anchorblocks have apertures therethrough conforming to said rails, said fixedjaw and said anchor block including means for locking said rails to saidfixed jaw and anchor block.
 4. A quick-acting vise according to claim 1,wherein said rear surface of said movable jaw includes a curved recessgenerally conforming to the shape of and larger than said ball end ofsaid threaded rod, and wherein an apertured retaining plate is attachedto said rear surface, the aperture in said plate registering with saidcurved recess and having a diameter less than that of said ball end andlarger than the diameter of said threaded rod immediately in back ofsaid ball end.
 5. A quick-acting vise according to claim 1 wherein therotation of said moving block and links about said pivot pins in adirection toward said vise jaws is limited by said threaded rod restingon said rod rest portion, said rotation being limited to a portion wherethe longitudinal axis of said threaded rod lies just below thelongitudinal axis of said pivot pins.
 6. A quick-acting vise accordingto claim 5, wherein said rod rest portion includes a groove in the topthereof adapted to accept and limit the downward movement of saidthreaded rod.
 7. A quick-acting vise according to claim 6, wherein saidthreaded rod has a cirCular cross-section and wherein said groove has aconforming rounded bottom portion.